(From the archives - 2014))
Between yes and no, we generally think of yes as the best answer. However, there are times when no is the best answer. When we say yes to Jesus, we say no to Satan. There are some people in the Bible who are famous for saying no. We will take a look at them and maybe learn from them how to say no. Joseph said no. Genesis 39:9: “There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back anything from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” This was Joseph’s answer to Potiphar’s wife when she tried to seduce him. Evidently, she was a beautiful woman and was not accustomed to hearing men say no to her. Notice that Joseph said no because he did not want to betray Potiphar, but more importantly, he did not want to betray God. He saw adultery as a sin against God. If Joseph had said yes to this seductive woman, he would have been saying yes to Satan and no to God. In those times when we are sorely tempted to sin against God, we should learn to say no as Joseph did. We need to ask ourselves which is more important, to seek pleasure for a moment or seek to please God? Pleasure has become a way of life to us and we need to guard against those pleasures that betray ourselves, others and God. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego said no. In Daniel 3 we read about Nebuchadnezzar’s command that all of the people were to bow down to an image of gold. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answered in the negative. They told Nebuchadnezzar that God was able to deliver them, but if God chose not to deliver them, they would still not serve his god’s or worship his golden image. (Daniel 3:17-18) We too have to make a choice as to who and what we will worship. We can choose to worship money, property, family, etc. Like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, Everything that the world offers is not evil, but sometimes Satan makes it difficult to tell the difference. We need to always say yes to what God offers. Keep in mind that they said no at peril of their lives. The stakes might not be as physically high to us, but they are spiritually high under any circumstances. Daniel said no. The jealous princes who served with Daniel in Nebuchadnezzar’s court, not being able to find anything else against him, concocted a scheme to get him killed. They talked Nebuchadnezzar into signing a law that anyone who asked petition of any god or man for thirty days should be thrown into a den of lions. Daniel knew about the law, but he still went three times a day to pray facing Jerusalem. He prayed to the God of Israel. He would not be coerced into substituting Nebuchadnezzar for God. Nothing could keep Daniel from praying. Can anything keep us from praying? Say no to Satan when he tempts you not to pray, because he knows that prayerlessness will rob you of spiritual power. Jesus said no. In Matthew 4 and Luke 4 Jesus was tempted by Satan. He had fasted forty days and forty nights and was very hungry. He was physically weak, so Satan sought to take advantage of it. You remember that each time Jesus said no to Satan that He quoted scripture to him. Satan is very much aware of our weaknesses and of our weak moments, and he will try to get us to do his bidding. Like Jesus, we should say no to him based on what the word of God says. Like the four examples above, learn to tell Satan no. It is important to do so. Bro. Joe
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“I know, O Lord that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps.”
It is difficult for we successful Americans to admit that our lives are not "our own." But in our Christian walk we have to come to that conclusion, for we serve a Lord who wants to direct our steps. Why should we not direct our own steps? First, we are not smart enough to direct our own steps, at least not as smart as the Lord, who sees everything in our lives, including where we step in life. It is sort of like driving in the fog, we probably know the route, but we can’t see the pitfalls along the way because of the fog. Satan is in the “fog" business. He likes to blind our eyes to what the Lord wants of us. We need to prayerfully seek the Lord’s guidance in order to “clear the fog.” The Lord knows where our best steps should be made. Satan knows where the worst stops are and he is a master at making them look good and inviting. Before you make your life’s crucial steps, make sure they are in line with the Lord’s direction for you. Second we are not alert enough. It is not humanly possible for us to know where all of Satan’s snares are. Peter gave the classic warning to us about this in 1Peter 5:8-9: “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9. Resist him, standing firm in the faith…” Through the Lord’s leadership, we will know where the pitfalls of the “roaming devil” are, and will lead us away from them. Paul wrote about this in 1 Corinthians 10:13: “No temptation has seized you but it common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.” The key is that we look for the Lord to direct our steps away from the pitfalls. Third, we are not holy enough. I don’t want to criticize your spirituality, but no person is holy enough to stay out of Satan’s way. Satan knows every step that we take, and he knows what our weaknesses are and he will lead us in the direction of our weaknesses. You don’t need to guess how I know this! We need to be spiritually alert enough to know what our weaknesses are and when we are being led in their direction. We will know this when we seek the Lord’s direction and ask Him to direct our steps. David probably never expected to commit adultery with Bathsheba, nor did he expect to have her husband killed – but he did. This man that was called “a man after God’s own heart” was caught in a weak moment and Satan moved in and trapped him. When we least expect it, Satan will put temptation in front of us, and we will need the Lord’s direction to avoid it. We need to watch our step because we need the Lord’s help in making the right steps. Bro. Joe “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give His life a ransom for many.”
In Mark 10, James and John asked to be given the honor of sitting on the right and left hand of Jesus in His kingdom. Jesus used the Occasion to teach His disciples about the true measure of greatness in His kingdom. According to Jesus, kingdom greatness is not measured by others serving us; rather, it is measured by our serving others. A truly great Christian will have a servant’s heart. According to Jesus, we should not want to be served but to serve. We should not want to be great by the world’s standards but by God’s standards. Whatever the Christian service is, it should be from the servant's heart. A truly great Christian will also have serving hands. We should not just talk about service to others; we should actually serve them. Jesus demonstrated this when He washed His disciple’s feet. We should never be afraid that we are doing too much for others, but that we are doing too little. What kind of service should we render? Our Christian service can take as many forms as the needs around us. In verse 44, Jesus told His disciples, and us, about the measure of a real Christian leader: “And whosoever of you will be chiefest (first) shall be servant of all." Leadership in God’s kingdom is not as much sought as it is given by God. God’s choice for leadership is based on service, not the ability to lord it over others. If we are dedicated servants of Jesus, it will not matter to us who are considered to be the leaders. In verse 45 Jesus gave the measure of His leadership and His greatness: “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Jesus used Himself as an example for His disciples and for us. If Jesus came to serve, how much more should we seek to serve, for “a servant is not greater than his master?” Jesus literally gave His life as “a ransom for many.” We need to look into our own hearts and determine whether we want to serve rather than be served. Bro. Joe “Be not righteous over much: neither make yourself over wise: why should you destroy yourself?”
When I read through the Bible each year I inevitably come upon Ecclesiastes. (lol) This book contains some thoughts that make me scratch my head and say “What did he say?” I want you to bear with me for a few minutes and let’s see what this verse tells us, or at least what they told me. Do not be “righteous over much” means to be too righteous. Is it possible to be too righteous? Jesus thought so, because he took the scribes and Pharisees to task for their self-righteousness. We have a good example in Luke 18:9-14. In verse 9 Jesus accused the Pharisees of being self-righteous: “And (Jesus) spoke this parable unto certain which trusted in them, that they were righteous, and despised others.” The verses that follow tell us of two men who went to the temple in Jerusalem to pray. Their prayers indicated their righteousness. Here is the prayer of the Pharisee: “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God I thank you that I am not as other men are extortionist, unjust, adulterers, or even this publican'…” I think you get to the point. When we get to the point that we claim to be righteous ourselves to the point that we despise others, or look down on them, we are “righteous over much.” Incidentally, the publican (tax collector) simply prayed “God be merciful to me a sinner.” Jesus commended that simple prayer. Today, we would say that the Pharisee was smug in his own righteousness. This does not mean that we should not live righteous lives but that we need to realize that we ourselves are not righteous, because righteousness is a result of faith in Jesus Christ. We should not be ashamed of living a righteous life. We just need to remember that we were made righteous by faith in Jesus Christ not by our own efforts. In Romans 4 Paul wrote about the faith of Abraham. God has promised him that he and Sarah would have an heir, which happened when Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90. In Romans 4:22, Paul wrote about Abraham’s faith: “That is why his faith was counted to him as righteousness.” In verses 23-25 Paul gives us the basis of our righteousness: “But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24. But for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord. 25. Who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” Whew! I hope I have adequately explained to you what it means to “not be righteous much.” Bro. Joe “And now, Lord, behold their threatening; and grant unto your servants, that with all boldness they may speak your word. 30. By stretching forth your hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of your holy child Jesus. 31. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.”
Peter and John healed the lame man at the “Beautiful Gate” of the temple. This caused trouble and led to a confrontation with authorities, who told the disciples to stop preaching about Jesus. What we have in this answer are the qualities of effective Christian fellowship. The first thing they did was to take it to the Lord in prayer. They did not try to figure out what to do in response to the authorities, and then pray about it. We do not need to help God do His work on our behalf, we need Him period. In verse 30 they asked God to do a great work in the midst of the trouble. It’s interesting that they did not pray for God to deliver them from the trouble, but they asked Him to a great work through them in the trouble. Their concern was not on their safety but on their witness to the world. Someone once said: “When all else fails, pray…” The rejoinder to that was: “Before all else fails, pray.” Dwight L. Moody wrote: “All great Christian movements begin with a kneeling figure.” They prayed for boldness. They did not try to get around witnessing for Jesus; they asked Him to give them more boldness. This is one quality of Christian fellowship that we see throughout Acts. Stephen was bold enough to die for his faith in Jesus. Peter stood and boldly proclaimed the name of Jesus on the day of Pentecost. Saul of Tarsus was saved on the Damascus Road and boldly the gospel all the way to imprisonment in Rome. Where, by the way, he boldly witnessed for Jesus. We do not need to be afraid of the unbelieving world; rather, we should be bold witnesses of our faith in Jesus Christ. The text ends by relating that they “spoke the word of God with boldness.” They continued to speak for Jesus being “filled with the Holy Spirit.” He is the One who gives us the boldness that we need to witness for Jesus. He is One who empowers us to speak the name of Jesus. If we are not “filled with the Holy Spirit” we might make a holy noise but we will not be effective in our witness. They prayed together in unity because they were held together by the Holy Spirit, and they work in unity with each other under the power of the Holy Spirit. We should take note of this text when we are planning to be effective witnesses. Bro. Joe “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light to the Gentiles.”
This great promise given to the Isralites, based on the way God works with His people, the promise certainly pertains to us. There is nothing written here that cannot be seen in the way the Holy Spirit works in our lives. The basis of the promise in this verse is “I will keep you.” The Lord said, “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness.” God’s keeping us is bound up in the fact that He has called us. This means that He called us and we responded to the call and when we did, we became intrinsically bound up in His will and leadership in our lives. We need to realize that in our answer to His call, God has ownership in our lives, and becomes a part of all that we do in life. This is difficult for some people for they think that God’s ownership of us takes away our free will. Jesus said that “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” Frankly, I had rather be free in the arms of God than in the trap of Satan. The Lord said, “I will take hold of your hand.” This is good news. The promise of Jesus is that He will never leave or forsake us. It is comforting when we are held in God’s hand. I remember walking across the dark schoolyard in my hometown with my dad to “shoot some baskets” at the gym. I used to reach out periodically and take his hand so that I would know that he was still with me. (lol) This is not all that prayer is, but there is a sense that when we talk to Him, we have a sense of safety. It is a great relief to me that the Lord is holding my hand and that “underneath are the everlasting arms.” Take comfort in the fact this is true for your life. Reach out your hand to Him and discover the security of having the Lord hold your hand. The Lord said, “I will keep you and make you to be a covenant for the people and a light to the Gentiles.” He called them to reach out to the world, just as Jesus called us to reach out to the world. Throughout the Old Testament the prophecy about the coming of Christ and about his salvation for the Gentiles is prominent. The Lord does not call us, keep us and hold our hands, to live a self-contained life. He calls us to reach out to people and to be a witness to them of the love of Christ. This begins by our living exemplary lives before the world and showing them to love and the righteousness of Christ. Praise the Lord for His promising to keep you, and let Him do it! Bro. Joe “I took you from the ends of the earth; from the farthest corners I called you. I said, ‘You are my servant; I have chosen you, and have not rejected you. 10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God, I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.’”
This is a promise that God gave to Israel through the prophet Isaiah. It is a promise that we can also believe and enjoy. It tells us that our God is a willing God. The first thing that we need to know is that God has not rejected us. It is sometimes difficult for us to believe that the sovereign, almighty creator of the universe will actually accept us and not reject us. We are not worthy of His acceptance, but He accepts us by His grace and mercy. If you feel that God has rejected you, just remember that He “so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Jesus loves you and will accept you. The second thing that we need to know is that we should not be afraid. It is not unusual for people to be afraid in our volatile, and sometimes, hateful world. One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Psalm 56:3: “What time I am afraid, I will trust in you.” It is good to know that He is always with us and will not forsake us. The one thing that you can be sure of is that God is only a prayer away from you wherever you are. In Psalm 56:2, David wrote: “My enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou most high.” David was literally surrounded by enemies when he wrote this, but whenever he became afraid he remembered that he could trust God. What time you are afraid, you can also trust in Him. The third thing that we need to know is that we do not have to be dismayed. There are two things that Isaiah mentions here to remind us that we do not have to be dismayed, puzzled, or disheartened, because He is our God, who will be with us and according to our text He “will strengthen us and help us and will uphold us with His righteous right hand.” When you are disheartened, keep in mind that you have the God of the universe on your side. He is the God who is willing to help you because He has accepted you, He knows when you are afraid or when you are dismayed. Lean on Him….He wants you to lean on Him. Bro. Joe . “We love (God), because He first loved us….”
I want to share three things I would tell the whole world if given the opportunity. Here they are: First, I would tell everyone in the world that God loves them. I don’t think that many people in the world believe this, and some world religions give the opposite view of God. They say either that He is hostile or doesn’t care. Those things are not true of God. The Bible does tell us about God’s wrath, but His wrath is reserved for people who spurn the great love that He has given them, those who do not believe that: “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” You have probably read this from me before, but it’s worth writing again: “The bible never says that God is wrath, but it does say that God is love.” (1John 4:8) God loves us in spite of our sinfulness, and He loves us in spite of the fact that we might not think that He loves us. We cannot escape the love of God. He is the “hound of heaven” and woos us continually! Get it down: GOD LOVES YOU!!!!! Second, I would tell the whole world that God wants the best for them, but that they also need to want it for themselves. We can go all the way back to Adam and Eve. God gave them the best that there was. Everything was perfect. There was only one tree in the Garden of Eden that they were not to touch, and if they did not touch that tree they would always have the best that God was willing to give. You know the story, they ate from that tree and sealed their fate as well as ours. But we still have a choice. God offers His best to us and for us. The question is do we want it. Let’s take one thing for example – “the fruit of the Spirit” in Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” Jesus offers all of those through the Holy Spirit to those who trust Him as savior. Why would anyone not take Him up on that promise? Don’t you be one of those who doesn’t take Him up on it. Third, I would tell the whole world that God is sovereign, and that this is good news. If everything has to be under the dominion of one entity, it is good that that One is God. In His sovereignty, God is all-powerful, all-knowing and all-present. If you try to think of the greatness of God without faith in Him it will either blow your mind or be unbelievable to you. Just think of One who knows the number of hairs that you have on our heads. He knows our every deed and He knows our every thought. There is nothing about us that does not interest God. Sometimes we think that we are insignificant in the totality of things. BUT WE ARE NOT INSIGNIFICANT TO GOD. He is as interested in us as He is in the so-called great people of the world. Praise God! Thank Jesus! Yield to the Holy Spirit! That’s what I would tell the whole world, if I were given the opportunity, but I will settle for the fact that I just told you. That is sufficient for now. Do you believe it? Bro. Joe “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God. 7. And the peace of God, which passes understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
This is one of my favorite “go-to” texts. I actually mentally quote it sometimes just to remind me of the benefits of prayer that are contained in it. I want to share these benefits with you, and hope it will be a great encouragement in your own prayer life. First, the text tells us that prayer is a cure for anxiety. (“Careful” can be translated “anxious.) Many people are anxious today and need to be reminded that they do not need to be anxious because they can go to the Lord of the universe, and shed their anxieties on Him. We will find Him ready and willing to help. There is no need for a Christian to be anxious. Second, there is the benefit of supplication, or petition. There is nothing that we cannot talk to Him about, and there is nothing that we can tell Him that He does not already know. We can share our concerns about other people with Him. I offer petition every day for my family. I offer petition for my fellow ministers. I offer petition for churches. There is nothing that we cannot share with Him. For example, the Bible tells us to pray for our enemies and the Lord will help us to accept them and not feel hostile toward them. This hostility is a real stunt to our Christian growth. You can pray for all people in your life. Thank God for the benefit of supplication. Third, there is the benefit of “requests.” Those who attend prayer meetings will be familiar with prayer requests. The greatest comfort that I had when undergoing serious illness, was that people all over Georgia were lifting up my name in prayer to the Lord. Praying for others is not just nice to do; it can also be a matter of life or death. We can also petition Him on behalf of our problems, etc. that we are having in our lives. There is nothing that is troubling that you cannot take to the Lord..Remember when you pray that the Lord is in the forgiving business and, like the father in the parable of the prodigal son, you will find Him waiting for you, to forgive and cleanse you. Fourth, there is the benefit of peace. When we make our requests to Him in true confession and repentance, He will forgive us and give us peace. The peace that God gives is not just a nice thing, it is life changing. It is “peace that passes all understanding.” If you want peace today take your concerns to God in true confession and repentance, and the “peace that passes understanding” will be yours. In fact, I challenge you take all of your burdens to the Lord. The “peace that passes all understanding can be yours. Take advantage of these benefits of prayer today. Bro. Joe “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! 21. Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight.”
Isaiah’s prophetic ministry was during a very difficult time in Judah and Israel. The Northern Kingdom of Israel was about to be overtaken by Assyria, and the Southern Kingdom of Judah was on the brink of destruction as well. (Except for Hezekiah righteous reign, Judah would have joined Israel in destruction.) The problem was an age-old problem – people thought that they were smarter than God and knew better than God. This is not unlike the time in which we live. We have never been better informed, nor have been more deceived than we are now. Part of the problem was that people thought they knew about what was good and what was evil than God did. After all, God’s people had the Ten Commandments to guide them, but they were beyond that. The seed of Israel and Judah’s destruction was that they thought they could determine what was good and what was evil, regardless of what God’s word said. We see this happening today. It is happening in obvious ways, for example, in relation to sexual sins of all kinds. God’s word makes plain what is right and what is wrong in this area, yet we think we know better than God. We say that, after all, this is 2018 and the old ways are no longer applicable. The “old ways” are applicable, not because they are old but because they are true. But this is also true in more subtle ways in what we would call “little sins.” For example, the Bible teaches us, particularly in the New Testament, that we are to be careful what we say about people, yet gossip is rampant – even in churches! People today are bent on turning biblical morality on its side and casting it away all together. We can’t do this with impunity and not pay a price for it. I want to be careful in my own life and in my own thinking, for if I’m not careful I will find myself calling good evil and evil good. This is wrong even in subtle, less obvious ways. Another part of the problem was that people thought they were smarter than God. Isaiah wrote: “Woe unto those that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight.” We need to be careful lest our brains run away with our wisdom. We think that we know so much, and compared to other generations, we do know more than people have ever known. We have knowledge at our fingertips on the internet. If I want to know something, I just look it up on the internet. The problem is what when we are wise in our own eyes, we seem to think that just because we know something it must be right. We think that the more we know, the smarter we are. This is not necessarily so. When our self wisdom drives us away from God and what He wants with and for us, we have been deceived. The solution to the two problems above is found in Proverbs 3:5-7: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not unto your own understanding. 6. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. 7. Be not wise in your own eyes: fear the Lord and depart from evil.” When we trust God, we trust His wisdom and His directions for our lives. When we acknowledge Him and depend on His understanding, we will not call good evil and evil good, nor will be wise in our own eyes. We need to realize that there is wisdom greater than human wisdom, and that the Wisest One wants to give us our understanding and our knowledge. This is what I need to do and what you need to do! Do it! Bro. Joe Virus-free. www.avast.com |
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